Yorkshire's route to 2011 season boosted by £500,000 sponsorship

The club have signed up JCT600, the region's largest independent car retailer, as their official club sponsor for the next three years.

The deal follows a one-year contract with Welcome to Yorkshire and means the JCT600 logo will appear on all kit worn by captain Andrew Gale and his players.

It brings much-needed revenue into the club at a time when they are around 18m in debt and continuing to pay off the cost of redeveloping Headingley Carnegie cricket ground.

Yorkshire chairman Colin Graves, who is leading the club through the current financial crisis, said: "The club is delighted to welcome JCT600 as its new official sponsor.

"The large number and wide spread of JCT600's dealerships across the county means that it is a highly relevant brand to all of our supporters.

"I know that Martyn Moxon (Yorkshire's director of professional cricket) and all of our players will appreciate having the backing of such a strong business on our shirts as we look to drive on following our promising 2010 campaign, where we came so close to honours in both the CB40 competition and the LV County Championship."

Yorkshire reached the CB40 semi-finals and finished third in the Championship as Gale and Moxon defied pre-season predictions of a turbulent campaign.

The deal with JCT600 is not understood to have been directly influenced by the club's splendid season, but Yorkshire are undoubtedly more attractive to potential sponsors and partners than at any time during the past few years.

The new sponsorship arrangement will take effect from the start of next season and enable investment to continue in the club's various squads.

Yorkshire also plan to work closely with JCT600 on a number of community and sport-led initiatives.

John Tordoff, JCT600 chief executive, commented: "JCT600 is represented by dealerships throughout Yorkshire and this sponsorship gives us the opportunity to work with the only sporting entity that represents the county as a whole.

"The club contributes hugely towards the strong sense of identity our region possesses and we are proud to be able to support the squad as it moves forward into next season.

"The team is made up of some extremely ambitious, committed and talented players and this works in perfect synergy with all that JCT600 stands for.

"We have no doubt that the club's ambitions will be realised in the coming seasons and very much look forward to being part of it.

"We're already working closely with the club on a number of initiatives and hope that our involvement will help to contribute towards the continued popularity of cricket in Yorkshire, so that we can all share in the pride and passion it brings to the region."

JCT600 is a family business with its head office in Bradford. It has 48 dealerships throughout Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and the north-east and sells 21 of the world's most respected brands such as Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.